On Thursday, May 6th, Sarah Blake read from and discussed her latest New York Times best-seller, The Postmistress. Born in New York City, Sarah Blake is the author of a book of poems, Full Turn, an artist book, Runaway Girls, in collaboration with the artist, Robin Kahn, and two novels. Her first novel, Grange House, was named a “New and Noteworthy” paperback in August, 2001, by The New York Times. Her second novel, The Postmistress, was published by Amy Einhorn Books/Putnam in February 2010. Her essays and reviews have appeared in Good Housekeeping, US News and World Report, The Chicago Tribune and elsewhere. Ms. Blake taught high school and college English for many years in Colorado and New York. She has taught fiction workshops at the Fine Arts Works Center in Provincetown, MA, The Writer’s Center, in Bethesda MD, The University of Maryland, and The George Washington University. She lives in Washington, DC, with her husband, the poet Joshua Weiner, and their two sons.
On Sunday, April 25, the Friends hosted the launch of the fourth edition of The Westchester Review, a compilation of poetry, essays, and fiction by established and emerging writers who live or work in Westchester County. Publisher JoAnn Terdiman explained how the journal was born: "There are so many gifted writers here in the county," I said to my daughter. "Wouldn't it be something if there were a journal for the many voices of Westchester?" We looked at each other and said, "Why not?"
On Sunday, April 11 at 4pm, there was a discussion about a national grass–roots movement that is taking root in our community. Older residents are designing support systems that will enable them to remain independent in their own homes for as long as possible. Join Valerie O'Keeffe, Supervisor, Town of Mamaroneck, Lynn Reichgott, President, At Home on the Sound, Rob Waldman, President, Center for Aging in Place Support, and Lois Steinberg, Ph.D., At Home on the Sound, participated.
On Sunday, March 7, The Friends hosted Lois Sherr Dubin, author of the world’s definitive guide for bead lovers, collectors, and scholars--The History of Beads, From 100,000 B.C. to the Present. Recently updated, this bible of beads includes an eight-page gatefold timeline, full-color maps, and dozens of photographs that guide readers through the remarkably rich history of the world’s first adornment and one of the earliest media communication systems. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Lois has collected and researched beads for over 50 years. Her international practice in this field has enabled her to travel widely and obtain beads from many countries.
On Sunday February 28, the Friends of the Larchmont Public Library sponsored a discussion with Larchmont's Peter Kaplan, former editor of The New York Observer and currently creative director of Condé Nast Traveler about the future of newspapers and magazines as we know and love them--the old-fashioned ones made from trees.
On Sunday, January 31, 2010, the Friends of the Larchmont Public Library sponsored a free concert featuring violinists Kensho and Kisho Watanabe and their string quartet. This marks the sixth straight year the brothers performed in Larchmont. The Watanabe brothers, who studied at Yale and Juilliard, are members of the Yale Symphony Orchestra. Kensho, who is the concertmaster at Yale, has performed at Alice Tully Hall and the Weill Recital Hall of Carnegie Hall. Kisho, whose musical sensitivity is breathtaking, has also performed widely.
On Sunday January 10, 2010, NBC sportscaster and golf specialist Jimmy Roberts read from his new book Breaking the Slump: How Great Players Survived Their Darkest Moments in Golf - And What You Can Learn from Them. Roberts is an Emmy award winning sports reporter who has covered tennis at Wimbledon, football, and the Olympics and is NBC's interviewer for golf coverage. Breaking the Slump came out of his own frustration with the game and his realization that all good players have gone through a period of despair. In it he interviews almost everyone on his wish list of great players past and present.
On November 8, New Yorker writer Alec Wilkinson discussed his new book, The Protest Singer, a biography of Pete Seeger. When he approached the legendary singer to write the book, Seeger wanted a book that could be read in one sitting. And according to the review in the New York Times, Alec Wilkinson "has met that challenge, producing a slim, laser-sharp portrait of an artist and activist who has changed the lives of Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and millions of people who have lifted their voices to join him in song."
On Sunday October 18, M&M Productions performed scenes from Neil Simon's The Good Doctor. In the play, Neil Simon has deftly woven together a parody of the life and works of Anton Chekhov into a laugh-out-loud masterpiece--replete with conniving con artists, sly seducers and ridiculous slapstick. The stories are droll, the portraits affectionate, the humor both infectious and heartwarming.
On Sunday October 4, Alice Eve Cohen read from her new book, What I Thought I Knew, which chronicles her initially-anguished response to an unexpected pregnancy at the age of 44. The memoir was selected by O, the Oprah Magazine, as one of the 25 best books of the summer.
On Sunday September 13 at 4 PM, Nassim Taleb, author of The Black Swan and a former Wall Street trader, talked on a number of far-reaching topics, including the economic collapse and the Obama administration’s response to the recession.
On Sunday, April 19, the Friends sponsored a reading by established and emerging writers and poets whose work was published in the 3rd edition of the Westchester Review this spring.
On Sunday, March 29, Larchmont’s distinguished opera scholar Bridget Paolucci treated us to a lecture on Puccini's Tosca. This was her final lecture for the library, where she has spoken for more than 20 years. Paolucci is a frequent intermission speaker and panelist on the Metropolitan Opera radio broadcasts.
Acclaimed New Yorker writer David Grann joined the Friends on Sunday, March 1, to read from his new book, The Lost City of Z. Called a “masterpiece of narrative nonfiction,” Grann’s book attempts to solve the mystery of what happened to British explorer Percy Fawcett, who vanished after venturing into the Amazon in 1925 to find an ancient civilization. Doris Kearns Goodwin, author of Team of Rivals, says of Grann: “His superb writing style, his skills as a reporter, his masterful use of historical and scientific documents, and his stunning storytelling ability are on full display here, producing an endlessly absorbing tale about a magical subject that captivates from start to finish.”
Lincoln Center returned to Larchmont Sunday, February 1! Violinists Kensho and Kisho Watanabe returned to Larchmont with their string quartet for the fifth straight year. The brothers, who studied for years at Juilliard, are members of the Yale Symphony Orchestra. Kensho, who is the concertmaster at Yale, has performed at Alice Tully Hall and the Weill Recital Hall of Carnegie Hall. Kisho, whose musical sensitivity is breathtaking, has also performed widely.